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June 2004 - Week 1
The emails are categorised:
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I tried my router on Saturday. Surprisingly the ADSL link light flashed
orange then went steady green. Somewhat surprised I completed the router
configuration (username + password) and was gob smacked to find out that I
was connected. I'm not supposed to be enabled until tomorrow!
Nice one Freedom2Surf.
Especially nice one to Nick. Sounds like you're going to get a lot of pints
at this weeks pub visit.
Matt, Middleton |
Let's nominate Nick for MP. With that kind of effective
representation, quality of life is sure to improve!
[Many a true word...] |
Yes !!
I am on the extended reach trial after being contacted by BT. They are not
charging me for the trial period.
I am subscribed to AOL but as I said there is no charge for BT Broadband
over the trial period. BT have been very helpful and prompt, although I
still cannot get access to broadband yet. Still trying though.
I had the modem and stuff delivered at the end of June.
Regards Brian, Gt. Linford |
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Now that I am successfully attached to broadband (via Freedom2surf) how
long should I wait before cancelling my dial-up contract with Tiscali? In
other words, how long is the MK long-reach broadband trial planned to last?
[The end of September.] Jim, Gt. Linford |
As an NTL / MK wireless trialist I just received a note
indicating that for the rest of the trial I'll be on 1MB (as a reward for
prompt response to the trial questionnaire!).
If I was a cynic, I would think the trial was going well and that the extra
speed was being made available to convince me to buy the top speed package
when it goes commercial.
I do hope that the trial goes commercial - could not face going back to the
36K max dial-up or even ADSL
Regards
[details withheld to avoid potential lynching.] |
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I was accepted on the extended reach programme, and have had no problems
whatsoever.
Tony, Crownhill |
Tried to join Tiscali, because they were my previous ISP,
but no-one seemed to know anything about the long reach trial on the contact
number, so abandoned the attempt.
Service from BT so far has been excellent, so hope they don't take it off me
at the end of the trial, I'll be gutted!
Rose, Two Mile Ash |
We're on the trial....thank you so much! By next week, we
should be on Broadband.
Please do keep me posted on the action group, and at the end of the trial I
do hope I'm able to keep broadband.
YES - I am currently a part of the trial enjoying broadband!
Naila, Wavendon Gate |
| We are on the BT trial, when they connected the broadband,
our phone went out of order. (Since June 11th.) So when I reported the fault
to BT they said that they had to replace the phone lines.
That nice cable you've spotted is for us, and presumably anyone else, who
wants broadband in Walton Park.
They patched us a line: we have broadband. Even with the hassle, I think it
is worth it.
Kind regards
Marianna, Walton Park |
Yep, I have broadband, (at long last.)
Best Regards
John, Bolbeck Park |
| I was accepted on the trial and have Broadband access, via
Plus.Net. Just waiting now, like everyone else to see what happens at the
end of the trial... David, Great Holm |
I have broadband, although the connection is a bit flakey.
Plus net have escalated to BT. I suspect it is the internal wiring, as I
have no visible master box.
When it is working, which to be fair is most of the time, it is great.
Cheers
Merv, Bolbeck Park |
I finally managed to sign up for broadband with
freedom2surf and was connected two weeks ago. The first attempt I tried with
them came back as unable to receive broadband, but when I phoned them and
asked about the trial in MK the guy said that they hadn't submitted my
application as a part of the trial, so they re-submitted it and now I
finally have broadband!!!!
I'd like to thank you for keeping me up to date with the progress of the MK
action group, because of that I would probably not have known about the BT
trial and would still not have broadband.
Going by my experience, if people are still having problems getting
broadband I would most certainly recommend giving freedom2surf a call and
requesting going on the BT MK trial, maybe applicants are not being
submitted as a part of the trial.
Best regards and thanks again,
Terry, Kents Hill |
I am on the BT broadband extended reach trial, but I am
experiencing frequent drop out's of the broadband service. I have got BT on
the case to try to improve the line loss.
Ron, Racecourses |
| Just to let you know that I have successfully connected to
broadband via the BT free trial. Had a couple of problems at first but I
must say that Lee from BT was very professional and helped out with my
initial fault finding and now I am at full 576k speed. Brilliant and thank
you for all your help..
Regards
Roland, Racecourses |
Just to let you know that we have finally got BB on Bolbeck
Park. We're on the trial with a free service until the end of September. We
did get a letter telling us we were being charged £27 a month but that's all
sorted now.
Regards,
Jim, Bolbeck Park |
Just to let you know that BB enabled on 28 June via BT
Yahoo. Hunky dory so far with line speeds of 576 and 288 Kbps. Many thanks!
Andrew, Willen |
| I now have broadband - hoorah! May i pass on a tip - mine
didn't work at all until i took off the old front cover of my main phone
socket and plugged my modem into the port behind it - then everything lit up
happily - apparently some of the older covers aren't too hot at passing the
broadband signal through. [Your solution will work, but you will find
your phone extensions around the house will not work.
If you ask your ISP, BT will come out and fit a new filter face plate.]
cheers,
Alexandra |
Well I finally have Broadband in Newton Longville through
the BT long reach trial. Taken some time due to some problems but BT support
has been excellent.
Received a Voyager 105 modem and did a self install but couldn't get a
signal. Tried Macs and PCs. Went through the support team and they ran some
tests and came to the conclusion that the problem needed an engineer to sort
out. The engineer arrived, did another line test and found the line was
around 77 dB loss. Standard limit is 60dB. He stated that it was a bit
borderline but he had connected a 76 dB line before.
He isolated the extension wiring, plugged in his gold standard modem and
ADSL locked and we were in. The original Voyager modem would not work so he
supplied me with a SpeedTouch 330 modem. He also had to fit the latest spec
master face plate and fit the ADSL filter at the master socket so that the
whole of the house phone extensions were effectively isolated. Having done
that, the phone extensions and dial up services (not needed now) all work
fine. The BT engineer stated that this solution would usually solve problems
caused by extension wiring.
The SpeedTouch modem is fine but not really Mac compatible. Known to many as
the Frog, it worked fine with the PC but not with the Macs running Os X. OS
9 was fine. Still the service was up and the difference was simply amazing.
After searching the web and talking to BT, I have replaced the Frog with a
Zoom X5 modem/router/Ethernet switch/firewall that uses Ethernet. Connected
up and instant broadband.
According the Zoom's ADSL status, I'm getting 576 kbps down and 288 kbps up.
No loss of frame or signal over the last 24 hours.
To say I am pleased is an understatement. The support from BT has been
superb which has been a big help.
The best bit of advice I can give for Mac OS X owners is get an Ethernet
based unit.
Regards
Steve, Newton Longville |
I am finally up and running with broadband. I am 6.9km from
the exchange as the cable runs (although can almost see it as the crow
flies). I have used PlusNet and found them to be very helpful. I had a
number of issues on the way, and a couple of visits from BT and new wall
socket with in built filters, and separate ADSL and phone socket. All seems
to be well.
Many thanks for all help and the pressure from BB4MK.
Chris
Loughton |
Just thought I'd let you know its a beautiful sunny day in
my garden and I'm accessing the internet via wireless router to BT Broadband
and it feels great!
I gave up with Nildram as after many phone calls and emails I got nowhere.
So, I thought if BT are offering the trial then I would apply to them.
After a relatively painless enrolment process they phoned to say that it
would be live the 11 of June and it was!
The reason Bt originally turned down my connection was poor line quality
(distance from exchange is borderline). I have checked the broadband speed
test sites and they confirm that my broadband upload and download speeds are
normal. So it beats me why they didn't offer me a connection 2 years ago?
The broadband difference is that when its my turn to cover 24hr support in
my job I no longer fear the dodgy slow dial-up connection that makes me a
liability to my colleagues.
Many thanks and if I ever get time off to go to one of the meetings there
will certainly be a few beers to drink.
Cheers
Bernard, Bow Brickhill |
| My neighbour and I have both had successful installations
of ADSL in Wavendon Gate. We both have been using ISDN till now. I have used
BT Connect Business (or whatever they’re called) on my home line. They had
to transfer this line to a business account to match my Business Highway. I
will now await the end of the trial before removing ISDN (although I need to
find a way to make it cheaper while I’m not using it). I have a Draytek
router plugged into to the master phone socket with a network cable into my
network switch in the office. The brown tape on the carpet to hold it in
place is a particularly tasteful look! Everything works fine with up and
downstream rates in the correct range. The only thing that doesn’t work now
is internet access via ISA server but I’m sure that’s something daft and
easy to fix. I have successfully VPNed into the router.
I haven’t had any problems with the service so far and it seems to be fine –
I’ll update as things move on.
So thanks to Nick and co – with your help I’ve got further than I ever could
on my own.
Regards
Stuart, Wavendon Gate |
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BT have been alerted to all the following emails...
Can you tell me who in BT I need to talk to to get a 100% yes or no to
having BB in Tewkesbury Lane (Monkston), I'm still getting ISP's telling me
they cannot place an order because the system show's that I cannot get BB,
the BT checker say's its marginal because of the fibre, the system
acknowledges that the exchange (Bradwell) is enabled for 2Mb.
The ISP's say broadly that until BT update the site info they cannot do
anything & they are unable to approach BT on my behalf because of the
information act.
With the NTL trial due to end soon & the likelihood that my line of sight to
Linford Wood likely to be obscured soon by the new housing on Monkston Park,
I'm kind of getting nervous that I will have to drop back to 56K.Pete,
Monkston
[You can place an order with the trial.
http://www.bb4mk.org/bttrial]
I had a problem getting ADSL from my preferred supplier (Eclipse) because
the BT database won't confirm that Tewkesbury Lane in Monkston can get ADSL,
it passes the first test but because of either the length or the fibre fails
the online checker (not a engineering check (yet), BT say the line is Amber
& therefore marginal on length one minute & then the next just say that its
the fibre). BT Openworld could place an order but most other ISP's couldn't.
BT wouldn't/couldn't do anything & never replied anything other than - place
an order & we will convert you to copper. So I contacted Ofcom & it should
be a result for both myself & anyone else in the same boat in Monkston, here
is Ofcom's response:
Thank you for contacting Ofcom.
I can confirm that Ofcom has been in contact with BT about the problem
you raised.
BT has advised Ofcom that the region where you live is expected to have
the availability of ADSL information updated at the end of this week.
This means that you should be able to order ADSL from your preferred
supplier from Monday of next week.
- I await Monday & will just hope that BT deliver.
Pete
[BT still haven't realised they've run in copper cable to
Monkston: they need to tweak their
database!] |
Nick, am I missing something here? I thought the whole
point was the the extended trial was for those for whom the web database
displayed that broadband was out of reach, or does what Eclipse have sent me
mean that I am outside the limit of even the extended reach?
Hello Keith,
Many thanks for your enquiry. The Milton Keynes trial is still running
and the BT database has been amended to reflect the extended reach. I
have checked the number you provided and unfortunately the line is still
unable to get the ADSL.
Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any further queries,
Kind regards
Eclipse Internet Sales
Regards,
Keith, Walton Park
[I'd try another ISP. Walton Park is in the trial area.] |
I was excepted on to the trial and was sent the modem when
we could not get it to work an engineer came out and guess what? the
telephone lines was to long. SO STILL NO BROAD BAND.
My 16 year old son was mortified.Sue, Loughton |
Any change for us Midband users? Will BT relent? [I've pushed again on
this - they are being stubborn.]
Thanks for all your efforts.
Clive, Middleton |
This is just to let you know that I have been rejected from
the trial as my line is too long!!
I am in The Spinney, Bradwell Village.
Do you know if anyone else in The Spinney has managed to get on the trial?
Jim, Bradwell Village |
I am one of the forty odd Home Highway users not allowed onto the trial.
Can you clarify this is still the case. [Yes] It appears from
what you say there are a lot of places left so I am considering whether to
get a new line and get on the trial with the new line or just wait until the
trial is over. Considering a new line will be £75 now, do you know what the
cost of changing from Home Highway to ADSL is. I am not sure if the £50 to
go from Home Highway to PSTN applies. If I did go for a new line is there a
cost to cancel Home Highway after the trial has ended? I would call BT to
get these answers but I have had so much trouble in the past I get the
shivers just thinking of pushing 150 on my phone! Hope you can help.
Thanks & keep up the great work - it's not over yet !
Robin, Furzton |
Are you getting any of these replies back?? I don't
understand other people in Great Linford are getting the long reach trial.
No BT engineer came and checked the line. Can they fail this with just an
exchange test?
Dear Colin,
Your order was sent on the extended reach trial, unfortunately you line
test came back outside of the boundaries for that trial so you are
unable to get an ADSL service on that line. The order has been cancelled
and a full refund has been requested to be issued. If you have any
further questions then please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind Regards
Jessica Begum
Zen Customer Services Team
Regards,
Colin.
[BT replied:
Colin's line 01908 xxxxxx is red all the way. He is just the sort of
trialist we seek. Please suggest he get back to Zen with the news that BT
have doubled checked his line and he is red/red and should be put on the
trial.] |
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It nice to see several group members being able to access broadband internet
through ADSL where previously it had been declined.
One of the main problems with ADSL in MK has been the the exchange to user
distance as it is not clear from the members what range is being achieved.
It would be very interesting if Nick could correlate (from the member's
data) what ADSL ranges are being achieved and post it here so that we can
see if and how the range is being extended in the MK trial.
Regards
Bob
[Map work is in progress. This relies on reports from members - together
with their post code.] |
Has NTL not given you ANY indication as to what they intend
to do? I find it very strange that such an important decision for MK would
not be shared at least at some level with you.
Dave, Middleton |
| I am being activated on the long reach trial sometime this
week. I have ordered a router from my new ISP Merula. Am I going to need any
"Microfilters"? If so how many will I need and where is the best place to
get them? [You only need them on extensions where you have a phone
connected or want to connect ADSL.
Broadbandbuyer
in Newport Pagnell, have them for £4 each; or try Ebay.] |
I have been watching with much interest the goings on in and around MK
regarding the BT trials. The reason being, I used to have BB from NTL until
I moved to a new housing estate. NTL finished next door (how gutted!!) and
wouldn't be expanding and BT ASDL would not reach even when extended to 6km
due to the +3db gain over the max 60db. So as you can imagine I am very
interested in how the trials are going. The last up date on the
www.bb4mk.org/bttrial website was
dated 7th June. Can anyone give me an indication of how things are
progressing, please? [Pretty good! If you are at 63dB - you will be
fine.]
Much appreciated
Yours "still confident he won't have to kill the wife for wanting the new
house"
Lee, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire |
I had a chat about 2 weeks ago with a BT crew in Pettingrew
Close, Walnut Tree who were installing the new fibre cables for the 21CN
trial. They were also back on Monday gone, installing yet more new cables.
They said they would be in and around Walnut Tree and Kents Hill all summer.
So looks good for the October start date.
George, Walnut Tree |
I was approached by BT but declined participating in the trial because they
did not include AOL. I didn't wish to open account with another ISP. So I
though I'd wait for the outcome of the trial.
Thanks for your work on this project.
Richard, Milton Keynes Village |
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